Michael Maderia, Stonington High School graduate, 1969, authors a book that simplifies a massive subject.
by Roger Zotti
I taught wine for a long time and I find that people look for an understandable way to approach it, because the subject intimidates them,” said Michael Maderia, author of The Song of Wine: Music as a Metaphor for Wine. Writing his book was “an effort” because it meant “simplifying a massive subject that is intimidating.” So Michael used “another subject – music – that doesn’t intimidate us because we grow up with it.” He added that his musical background “is that of a lover of music. I have no professional background. I’ve played guitar and drums most of my life. But really this book isn’t written from the point of view of a music or wine expert. It’s written by someone whose favorite moments in life – well, music and wine have been a big part of those moments. And I found they go together really well.”
A Certified Sommelier, Michael has worked in hospitality for twenty-five years. In the 1980s, he said, “I took over the dining-room management at Flood Tide Restaurant at The Inn at Mystic and we had a pretty good wine list written by a purveyor. But there was no one on staff who understood wine.” So he educated himself and researched wine “pretty much the way someone would write a term paper – by studying and investigating and making sense of the subject.” And he hasn’t stopped learning and teaching: “I was an inn-keeper for twenty-five years and have taught wine both to wait staff and dinner classes.”
How and where does one start with wine? I mean, I suppose I have to pay big bucks for a bottle of “quaffable” red or white. “No!”Michael said. “This book recommends a procedure exactly for that.” Of the five thousand grapes used to produce wine, Michael suggests learning eight of them – “and I list the eight in the book. Once you learn the eight and reach a comfort level with them, after that you can begin to explore elsewhere.”
Here’s what Michael – who now works as a sommelier at a private golf club in Rhode Island – hopes readers take away from his book: “As we choose the music of our lives, we learn to understand what we enjoy. We love the music that’s part of our lives.” It’s the same with wine. “There’s this worry in wine drinkers they’re supposed to taste and enjoy what someone else likes – and that’s not the case. I’d be happy if people realized that their own favorite wines should be their own favorites.”
Reaction to the book has been good, though Michael admitted “it’s not a subject that will ever be a best-seller. It’s a specialized subject. The people who have enjoyed it – especially young people new to wine – have found it helpful.”
Michael Maderia took a diverse and daunting subject and – in clear, often lyrical prose – demystified it and made it exciting and enjoyable. His metaphoric technique demonstrates his knowledge, passion and appreciation for wine and music. The Song of Wine is a marvelous introduction to wine.
So, folks, forget what Miles, Paul Giamatti’s character in the film Sideways, said about Merlot and instead let’s treat ourselves to a glass.
On one level, Amanda Marrone said her books are “escapist fun.” But she also tries “to have a deeper thread running through them.”
This just in: On July 8, summer officially started for book lovers when, at the Janet Carlson Calvert Library, Franklin, the 2010 Connecticut Authors Trail was launched. Nineteen authors will be traveling the trail this summer. The finale takes place at Mohegan Sun’s Cabaret Theater, September 23. (Visit http://sites.google.com/site/ctauthortrail2010 for more specifics.)
On July 13, Amanda Marrone appeared at the Preston Public Library. Though Amanda’s novels – Devoured, Uninvited, and Revealers – are aimed at teens, anyone who likes clear and stirring storytelling, along with an occasional fright, will enjoy them. All of her characters, she explained, “just want to fit in and belong, given the unique situations I thrown them into.”
Consider Devoured (Simon Pulse). Shortly after we meet Megan Scones, the main character, her twin sister Remy comes on the scene. Remy, killed in a car accident nine years ago, is – yes – a ghost, a ghost with whom Megan sees and converses.
Since the accident, Megan’s father has been in a “persistent vegetative state” at a local nursing home. As Remy’s behavior becomes increasingly alarming, Megan discovers her sister is trying to tell her something. Is it a warning? If it is, of what is Megan being warned? Enter Luke, a “hot guy… fabulous biceps,” whose sister Kayla disappeared a year ago. Megan learns she and Luke have something in common and it’s not only that they’re teenagers: Like her, Luke sees ghosts.
Amanda, who grew up on Long Island and now lives in Connecticut, is correct when she said her books “are fast-paced, escapist fun.” She added, “I try to have a deeper thread running through them.” In Devoured, the deeper thread involves Megan, her mother, and the secret her mother has been hiding about her husband’s wishes.
Ray Bradbury and Stephen King are two of Amanda’s biggest literary influences. One reason is that they “put a macabre twist on the ordinary.” They also place “every day people in extraordinary [and often paranormal] situations.”
Amanda’s stories all have, she explained, “a paranormal twist, wherein even a Fairy Tale themed amusement park [in Devoured] holds a dark secret. Reading Bradbury and King helped me look for the dark underbelly of the mundane.”
The best advice Amanda ever received about writing is “to have someone else read your work before sending it out – someone other than your mother.” The worst advice is to be “wary of anyone who says you have to write a certain way to succeed. What works for one writer won’t necessarily work for another.”
From the opening sentence, Devoured hooks the reader. The reason is that Amanda has mastered the technique of “what’s next?” With their strong narratives, her books propel you forward because you want to learn what’s going to happen to the characters she has so expertly created.
Amanda has written a series of books for middle grade students, too. For more information about her and her works, go to www.amandamarrone.com.
Dr. Tracy Lewis’ latest book, The Truth About Angels: Hollywood Versus The Bible, is her response to the portrayal of angels by Hollywood.
by Maren Schober
Wouldn’t we all like to know the answer to that question? Many of us believe in angels but hear all kinds of conflicting ideas about who they are and what they do. Some folks even have personal encounters with angels. Author Dr. Tracy Lewis of Tulsa, OK is one of these people.
Tracy’s latest book entitled The Truth About Angels: Hollywood Versus The Bible, is in response to her belief that most of the information being presented today about angels by Hollywood in films, television and in music is far from the truth.
“I started writing this book in 2005,” Dr. Lewis declares. “I believe that Holywood producers, actors and writers continuously misrepresent angels in their films. I wrote this book as a theological discourse and response to movies and television shows taking liberties with the Bible and with God. I simply want the Truth about God and His magnificent angels to be made known. God is my source of inspiration. I have a genuine love for Him, His Word, and for people. Whenever I write, the topics are always issues close to my heart.”
What can one learn about angels in this author’s book? Plenty!
“The story has three parts. In part one, I present short summaries of past movies and television shows that focus on angels. I point out the fallacies in each film.”
“In part two, I tell the truth about angels from a theological perspective and provide scripture references for facts such as angels only assume human forms, angels fight for God’s people, angels are not omnipotent, and angels are too numerous to count. This section includes an Angel Quiz for my readers and provides in depth answers to the most asked questions about angels.”
“In part three of my book, I offer several outlines for readers that can be used in study groups , theology classes, youth groups and Sunday School classes.”
One night while driving home through a long dark tunnel, Tracy experienced something extraordinary.
“I was exhausted. It was late at night and very dark. As I proceeded to drive across the bridge between Virginia Beach and Hampton, I could see the Hampton Tunnel approaching in the distance. When I entered the tunnel, I remember being in the left lane. The the next thing I remember was a stern voice saying, ‘Wake up!’ The sound of the voice startled me awake! I opened my eyes and gasped loudly as I sat up and quickly grabbed the wheel of my truck. I realized that I had fallen asleep at the wheel, yet I was even more startled by the fact that I was now driving out of the tunnel exit into Hampton. I was also in the right hand lane! I kept replaying over and over what happened. I began to cry as I thought of what could have happened, and then my tears turned to laughter and shouts of joy! Needless to say I remained awake for the rest of my drive.”
“An angel saved me that night. He woke me up, and he even guided my truck through the tunnel. Many times since then God delivered me at the hands of His angels.”
In his third novel, Estevan Vega says he wanted to write a novel, “really relatable to kids close to my own age.”
by Roger Zotti
When Estevan Vega was 15, he wrote his first book. Now, in his third work, Arson (Tate Publishing), he says he hoped to accomplish “something that was really personal. I was writing it during my parents’ divorce – which had a huge impact on me. And I wanted to write a story really relatable to kids close to my age – I was 17 when I started writing it. I wanted to capture that teen spirit and the pain I was going through.”
As for its theme, Estevan says, “It’s becoming who you are and taking off your mask. I feel a lot of people wear masks every day. The story tries to expose people for who they are.” The main character, Arson Gable, possesses a strange and terrible power. The mask he wears is that he wants to become like everyone else. “But he can’t do that,” Estevan says. “Then there’s Emery, who actually wears a mask. So you have the figurative and the literal.”
Because he tried to make his characters believable – which he did – Estevan hopes readers take away from the book, “The same experience that I or maybe they felt about something that happened to them in their past. I wanted a certain ‘relatability’ with this book that I don’t think I captured in my previous books.”
Originally, the book was Arson’s and his tormented grandmother’s story. But, Estevan explains, “I wrestled with the idea of making it more personal. Obviously, I didn’t want it to be like, ‘Oh, this is my sob story.’ Eventually, Emery moves in and she and her family add a whole new dynamic. Yes, it was unexpected, adding Emery and her family and seeing where they would go.”
Though Arson is an intense book, there’s a change of pace with the entrance of the dying Abraham Finch, whom we meet at Middlesex Hospital where Emery and Arson volunteer. Estevan splendidly describes the old man as having “coffee-colored skin … loosely draped around sagging muscles and brittle bones.”
The dialogue between Abraham and the teens is humorous, sagacious and believable. In fact, some of Estevan’s best writing – and my favorite scenes – involve Abraham. It’s during their conversations with him that – for a few moments – Emery and Arson step away from the terror of their own lives and learn about the suffering of someone who has lived long and observed and experienced much. To the teens Abraham says, “…I’ve seen some things in my day … Spent too much time being modest and not enough time saying it like it is.” Later, when Arson says, “I’m sorry, Mr. Finch. This world can be pretty cruel,” Abraham replies, But … this messed-up place got a soul. It ain’t perfect, but it needs saving, just like I did, just like you do.”
Estevan Vega is a young, gifted writer who gets better with every book. Aimed at both young and adult readers, Arson is a well-crafted fast-paced, highly enthralling page-turner … Learn more by visiting www.estevanvega.com.
Battling insurmountable obstacles is one theme of Frank McKinney’s novel.
by Roger Zotti
Frank McKinney has written an enthralling action-filled novel for young readers titled Dead Fred, Flying Lunchboxes, and the Good Luck Circle (HCI). “It’s a deep fantasy set in south Florida,” Frank said. “The primary character, an eighth grader, is named Ppeekk [pronounced Peekie]. She’s very insecure and shy.” As the story progresses, “she makes the most important friendship of her life with a little character she calls Dead Fred – whose real name is King Frederick the Ninth, ruler of the underwater kingdom known as High Voltage. He has been dethroned by a 50 foot Megalodon shark.”
The shark – which existed 50 million years ago – “comes back to life and is the evil villain,” Frank said. A superb descriptive writer, Frank depicts the gigantic Megalodon like this: “[His] thick gray hide was shriveled and puckered with scars. Dozens of remora fish clung to him, absorbing his evil essence … he bared rows of razor-sharp teeth …” Soon Ppeekk and her new friends – Quarto and his younger sister, Mini Romey – “have to find the courage to overthrow this seemingly insurmountable obstacle and restore King Frederick as High Voltage’s rightful ruler.” The theme of bravery abounds. But are the youngsters successful in restoring King Frederick and conquering the malevolent Megalodon? I’ll put it this way: the last paragraph is a stunner.
To write Dead Fred, Frank “leaped into the fantasy genre.” (His previous books dealt with business, real estate, and inspirational-spiritual matters.) He learned to write dialogue because his other books contained little conversation. And “writing action scenes, many of which take place underwater,” wasn’t easy because, Frank, “How do you create the true belief that these characters are breathing and fighting for their lives underwater?”
Frank believes a good fantasy opens up “the cinema in the reader’s mind. You become so engrossed you feel as if you are sitting in a movie theater watching a film.” He added, “The real bonding with the characters my readers have – who they like and dislike – is [key] in a fantasy novel.” And first-rate fantasy – which Dead Fred is -reminds the reader “never to lose the little boy or girl inside.” Lastly, consider what Ppeekk says in Chapter 13. They’re an ideal definition of fantasy. When she and her friends see some clown fish that, she says, “are not supposed to be here and yet are … doesn’t that tell you that maybe, just maybe, things you thought weren’t possible, are.”
In his Acknowledgements, Frank tells us that “the primary inspiration [for the book] came from his daughter, Laura, and [her friends] who walked the nearly one mile journey from our house to school every school day of Laura’s life … Right now that’s over 1200 walks. She’s never been driven – not once – and she’s ready to graduate sixth grade. We walked through a tropical forest, a jungle-like nature preserve, and over a drawbridge. So you can imagine the adventures we had in real life – which I fictionalized for the novel.” He also acknowledged Kate Mason (among others) who “taught me to love writing young reader fiction.” … Visit http://frank-mckinney.com/Dead-Fred.aspx for more information.
